ARAGORN Contributes to European Discussions on Soil Monitoring and Persistent Pollutants

News

In March 2026, Xenia Trier, Associate Professor at the Institute for Plant and Environmental Sciences (PLEN) and Project Coordinator of the ARAGORN project, participated in two major scientific and policy events addressing soil monitoring, chemical mixtures, and persistent pollutants.

Date of publication:
May 5, 2026

On 4 March 2026, Professor Trier presented at the EU Horizon PARC meeting in Brussels and took part in the special Workshop on Soil Risk Assessment (WP6 – Regulatory Aspects). The event brought together policymakers, Mission Soil authorities, and scientists to discuss current developments in soil monitoring and regulatory approaches to soil protection.

Her presentation, titled “Soil Monitoring“, was attended by approximately 40 participants and contributed to discussions on soil risk assessment and monitoring strategies. Following the meeting, on 5 March 2026, she met with representatives from DG ENV and MS authorities to discuss how ARAGORN and PARC could jointly support the development of approaches for addressing chemical mixtures in soils.

Later that month, on 25 March, Professor Trier delivered a presentation at analytica 2026, in Munich, Germany, titled “Implications, Blind Spots and Consequences of the PM Concept.” Around 30 scientists attended the session, which focused on pollution prevention, monitoring, and regulatory alignment concerning substances that are, or can transform into, Persistent and Mobile (PM) substances. The discussion highlighted concerns regarding short-chain fluorinated PFAS such as TFA and TFMS, as well as fluorinated salts (BF4⁻ and PF6⁻), used in automotive corrosion inhibition and as ionic liquids in batteries.

These contributions underline ARAGORN’s role in advancing European dialogue on soil monitoring, chemical risk assessment, and the regulation of  contaminants.

Professor and project coordinator Xenia Trier at analytica 2026 in Munich

Featured image: Jodie Righos on Unsplash